SYNC(3P)

📦 version 2017a, in alpine 3.22, alpine 3.23, alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable, opensuse-leap 16.0

💾 SYNC(3P) — POSIX Programmer's Manual, bestie edition 🦋

okay so this is SYNC(3P), straight out of the POSIX Programmer's Manual, and it's about the tiniest little function that does the biggest little thing. no cap.

🌸 PROLOG 🌸

real talk before we even start: this manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. the Linux implementation of this interface may differ (so like, go check the corresponding Linux manual page for details on Linux behavior, iykyk), or honestly the interface may not be implemented on Linux at all. 💀

✨ NAME ✨

sync — schedule file system updates 👑

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <unistd.h>

void sync(void);

look at her. one line. no arguments. no return. she's giving minimalist icon. 💅

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so the sync() function shall cause all information in memory that updates file systems to be scheduled for writing out to all file systems. all of them. every single one. she does not discriminate. 🌈

and here's the part you gotta internalize bestie: the writing, although scheduled, is not necessarily complete upon return from sync(). like, she booked the write, she didn't finish the write. scheduling ≠ done. don't @ me, that's just what the standard says. 🙈

🫶 RETURN VALUE 🫶

the sync() function shall not return a value. it's void. she literally cannot hand you anything back. no receipts, no nothing. ✨

🔥 ERRORS 🔥

no errors are defined. literally none. she's unproblematic fr fr. 💀

the following sections are informative (aka the chill, non-normative bonus sections, keep scrolling bestie). ⭐

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

None. nada. zero. the well is dry. 😭

🧚 APPLICATION USAGE 🧚

None. again nothing. iconic of her honestly. 👑

💜 RATIONALE 💜

None. no rationale given. she just is. main character energy. 🌸

⭐ FUTURE DIRECTIONS ⭐

None. the future is bright and also completely unspecified. slay. 🌈

💅 SEE ALSO 💅

  • fsync() — her more intense sibling, go say hi 🫶

and also: the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, <unistd.h> — that's where the header lives, bestie, that's the whole vibe check. 🎀

portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.

in the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document — like, they're the ones who get the final say, periodt.

the original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html . 🌐

any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. to report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html . 🐛

real ones know: sync() schedules, it doesn't guarantee. schedule your updates, hydrate, and don't assume the flush is finished just because she returned. 🫶

and that's the whole page bestie!! this one came to you from IEEE/The Open Group, 2017 — yes that's the source/version and the date, we're giving them their flowers at the very end like a proper sign-off. SYNC(3P), out. 💖✨🎀🦋

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